Entries tagged with: MirrorMirror

We were just talking about holiday shows in NYC in celebration of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas, but before we get there, there's a ton of stuff to do for Halloween as well.

Like they've done in the past, Cypress Hill will play a show around then at Best Buy Theater on October 30 with Method Man collaborator Redman. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Zappa Plays Zappa (aka the band led by Frank Zappa's son Dweezil performing his father's music) are playing a Halloween eve show at Gramercy Theatre (10/30) and then on Halloween they play Beacon Theatre (10/31). Tickets for those shows are on sale now.

Meanwhile, original Misfits vocalist Glenn Danzig and his former bandmate Doyle are going on a tour together that hits NYC on October 18 at Roseland Ballroom. Tickets for that show are still available.

Another punk option on Halloween is Cali vets The Dickies' previously discussed show at Knitting Factory (10/31). Tickets for that show are still available.

World/Inferno Friendship Society play their annual Hallowmas show at Warsaw on Halloween. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Former lead singer of Paul Revere & The Raiders, Mark Lindsay is playing on Halloween at Bowery Electric with The Doughboys, St. Philips Escalator, The Connection and DJ Tony Lo-Fi. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

For something dancier, Gatekeeper, Mirror Mirror, DJ Bruno (Light Asylum), and DJ Nick (CHERYL) will take over Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Halloween. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Another similar option is catching DFA's Juan Maclean DJing Cameo on Halloween with Justin Strauss and Evan Michael. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

The Cameo show starts at 10 and Juan Maclean is doing a 3 hour set, so you can probably get there after seeing his DFA labelmates Holy Ghost! play Terminal 5 with Midnight Magic. Tickets for that show are still available.

Before Glasslands hosts the Peelander-Z show on Halloween, they'll "dress up" as The Black Lodge for a Twin Peaks party on October 25, the Friday before. Tickets for that party are on sale now.

And what's Halloween without a few cover shows? On October 30 at 285 Kent, local indie bands will take on rock bands of the past with Butter the Children as Pixies, Dead Stars as Nirvana, Le Rug as At The Drive-In, Turnip King as The Velvet Underground, and Honduras as Green Day. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

The Stone hosts a much different kind with Eugene Chadbourne as Jimmy Carl Black, Evan Gallagher as Thelonious Monk, Thomas Heberer as Muggsy Spanier, Tatsuya Nakatani as Johnny Cash, Louie Pearlman as Cab Calloway, Barry Mitterhof as Jethro Burns, and special surprise guests. That goes down on Halloween at 8 PM and again at 10.

Cake Shop also has a cover show on Halloween too but the lineup is TBA. UPDATE: The lineup includes Vulture Shit as Dookie Shit, Big Ups as Breaking Brad, Flagland as Weezer, All Nines as Buckingham Buckingham Buckingham, Low Fat Getting High as Nirvana, Butter the Children as Pixies, and Palehound as Pavement.

* Silent Barn is also doing a cover show with Celestial Shore and Delicate Steve as Led Zeppelin, Whoarfrost as Nirvana, Cloud Becomes Your Hand doing Jock Jams, and You as Interpol. Twn Sister is DJing. Admission is $10 with a costume or $12 without.

Zero Boys, Night Birds, Nuclear Santa Claust, SpEd @ Europa
Midwest punk favorites Zero Boys return to NYC to bless Europa with the great surf-punk locals Night Birds and the Ramones-y Nuclear Santa Claust in tow. Fans of early 80s/punk hardcore, make sure to make it out, Zero Boys' appearance is a rare one and not to be missed.

She Keeps Bees, Last Good Tooth, Railbird @ Glasslands
Indie folk duo She Keeps Bees are busy cooking up a new record but gave a taste via a new single last month (stream it below). Tonight's show is well-matched with Providence, RI's Last Good Tooth and the slinky sounds of Railbird

Les Savy Fav, Delorean, Small Black @ House of Vans
The line-up is a little schizo, but no one seems to care at House of Vans. Les Savy Fav's music is fun, but the band truly comes alive live thanks to wildcard frontman Tim Harrington whose onstage antics are, at this point, legendary (see above). Spanish (well, Basque if your getting technical) dance troupe Delorean should get you primed and it's been revealed that the "Special Guest" is Brooklyn chillwavers Small Black. Free, but RSVP has been closed for some time, BUT the show will also be streaming online.

Roy Ayers @ Blue Note
Vibraphone master and funk legend Roy Ayers continues his four-night run with early and late shows. Let's hope her pulls out tracks from his much-lauded score to blaxploitation flick, Coffy (amongst his other great work).

Taj Mahal @ City Winery
The blues rock legend has been putting out records for 45 years and, at age 71, is still going strong, performing over 150 shows a year. This is his first of two City Winery shows this week.

Stephen Brodsky, Snake Oil, PC Worship @ Saint Vitus
Stephen Brodsky has been known for his work in some very heavy bands (Cave In, Converge), but as a solo artist, he takes a much softer approach. He'll still feel home at Brooklyn's mostly-metal bar Saint Vitus though, and that's where you can see him tonight.

While Tamaryn plots her third album, she has handed over her last one, Tender New Signs, to Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe to remix. His version of Tender New Signs should be out later this year, and you can stream a rough mix of "Afterlight" below.

Tamaryn also has some shows coming up this year, including a couple in NYC. She's performing, alongside The Drums (who just played New Music Seminar) for Prospect Park Alliance's benefit, Summer Soirée 2013 which happens July 24 at the Prospect Park Boathouse. This gala event, hosted by the Junion Committee, isn't cheap ($75 - $250) but it does go to the park. Tickets are on sale now.

Two days after that, Tamaryn will play less rarified digs, headlining 285 Kent on July 26. That show is with Mirror Mirror, Haribo, and Dee Dee from Dum Dum Girls on DJ duty. Tickets are on sale now.

All Tamryn dates (including those crazy Converse shows in San Francisco) are listed below...

While we patiently await the arrival of Australia's Kirin J. Callinanto the US during/around CMJ, the spacey, gothic post-punk guitarist has graciously dropped off a new mixtapes of jams to peruse. Spanning thirteen tracks, check out that mixtape for the first time below.

Since we posted about him last, Kirin has added a few NYC shows while here for CMJ. He'll play a live taping of "ESP TV" at Interstate Projects on Saturday (10/13) with Narcissister, Black Marble, Haribo, and Paul Haney.

Then during CMJ, he'll play the Terrible Records CMJ Party with LE1F, True and Regal Degal at Glasslands on 10/16 (tickets); and another Terrible Records party at Shea Stadium on 10/18 with Mirror Mirror, Regal Degal and New Look which is $8 and all-ages.

Then on Monday, October 22 he'll play Bowery Electric with Jack Ladder And The Dreamlanders, Kirin J Callinan, Plastic Flowers, The Dreebs, and Arc & Stones.

Late last year, Sam Mickens announced a split 7" with Voice on Tape due out "winter 2011/2012." That 7" still hasn't been released but you can stream Sam's contribution HERE. However, he did release a single last week, "One Final Round"/"To Victory or Death," which you can stream and purchase at his bandcamp. The songs have a traditional ballroom pop feel led by organic pianos and horns, until halfway through "To Victory or Death," when the band kicks it up into a double time punk beat.

Sam Mickens, who performed Saturday night as part of the Ecstatic Music Festival, has a few more upcoming NYC shows this month. He'll premiere his "Micropatronage" piece with a string quartet at Roulette on February 16 with Jim Staley and Zeena Parkins and Loren Mazzance Connors (whose new album, A Fire, was scheduled to come out this week but has since been delayed). Tickets are on sale now. Sam will then play the same venue on Feburary 18 when he hosts a live taping of ESP TV, which is also part of Roulette's Experimental Love Festival along with C. Spencer Yeh, Little Women, Grasshopper, MV Carbon, and Amanda Long. The event was curated by Scott Kiernan and Victoria Keddie. Tickets are on sale now.

Sam Mickens will also celebrate his 30th birthday at Shea Stadium on February 23 with performances by Sam Mickens Ecstatic Showband & Revue (who recorded the new 12") and Sam Mickens Fourth World (feat. members of Deerhoof, Extra Life, and Cuddle Magic). The bill also includes White Ring and Mirror Mirror.

Speaking of oOoOO's EP, Our Living is Killing Us (due April 10 via Tri Angle), Stereogum recently premiered the first track, "NoWayBack," which features vocals from collaborator Butterclock. Her airy vocals and oOoOO's beatwork bring to mind some of Grimes' downtempo material and its easily oOoOO's best track yet. Grab an MP3 of the song above and stream it below.

The full schedule for MoMa's 20l1 'Warm Up' season at PS1 has since been announced. The dance parties happen at the Long Island City location every Saturday from July 2 through September 3 from 2 PM to 9 PM. Admission is $15 and includes access to all exhibitions and 'Warm Up.' Check out the full lineup below.

One thing, and this is Popfest related really, is that Amor de Días are here this weekend, playing Knitting Factory on Sunday (5/22)opening for Damon & Naomi. We've got a pair of tickets to give away to this show. Just send an email with your name to BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with the subject line "Amor de Dias" and we'll pick a winner at random.

As you may know, the duo (Amor de Días) are Alisdair Maclean of The Clientele and Lupe Núñez-Fernández of Pipas, a group who played the first ever NYC Popfest back in 2007. I actually thought it was going to be Amor de Días in the "TBA" slot at the Thursday night Cake Shop show that turned out to be Pains of Being Pure at Heart. For this show to be happening at the same -- but not part of -- the 'Fest seems a little criminal.

MacLean and Núñez-Fernández formed Amor de Días back in 2008 and wrote and recorded whenever they had time, with help from current tourmates Damon & Naomi, indiepop legend (and master arranger) Louis Phillipe and Ladybug Transistor's Gary Olson. Their debut, The Street of the Love of Days, came out this week on Merge and is a lovely little album as you might imagine from the talent involved. Their styles and voices are a perfect match for one another and the arrangements are just perfect. Among the treats is a particularly nice version of The Clientele's "Harvest Time." You can download "Bunhill Fields" at the top of this post.

Damon & Naomi's new album, False Beats and True Hearts, is a really nice record too. And if it's still pouring out Sunday night, all the better. It's an evening of rainy day music.

BNLX

A much louder duo, also in town this weekend, are Minneapolis'BNLX, who play Pianos on Friday (5/20) and The Rock Shop on Saturday (5/21). I've written about them a couple times this year already and I do really dig their mix of rockin' tunes and corporate humor. I'll quote myself again:

Volume isn't just for punishment, though in the wrong hands it most certainly is. But sometimes you just can't achieve that clarity of sound, that particular strain of feedback, that shriiiiiiinnnnng you get from flicking the strings above the headnut, that tone...without cranking the amp. Ed Ackerson, a 20-year veteran guitar slinger of such Minneapolis bands as 27 Various and Polara, knows what he's doing. BNLX didn't just blow eardrums, they kinda blew minds...

...for being just two of them and a laptop, they made quite a racket at the Rock Shop. Normally I'm one to complain about bands using canned backing instead of a real drummer, but vintage drum machine sounds -- right out of 1987, be it Jesus & Mary Chain or Age of Chance -- are kind of integral to what BNLX are doing. With a stroboscopic lightshow (what, no smoke machines?) you didn't really need anyone else.

You can download two tracks from EP#5 at the top of this post, and I have a good feeling they'll have EP#6 at the merch table for the NYC shows. Also playing The Rock Shop show is Black Onassis, which is not the ex-drummer of Urge Overkill but a new group from former member(s) of Kasabian and Daylight for the Birds. Don't know much about them.

More interesting is what's happening earlier that same evening at The Rock Shop: a tribute to Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets featuring a cavalcade of indie rock talent. Here's the press release:

When Brian Eno's first solo record, Here Come the Warm Jets, came out in 1974 it turned heads. It continues to baffle great minds due to the sneaky way it overlays whimsical pop with the beginnings of Eno's whole philosophy of creativity and experimentation.

Indy music stalwart Rob Christinsen (Eggs, Grenadine, East Ghost West Ghost) and Rock Shop booker Jack McFadden team up to present this great curiosity of a recording LIVE with a melange of rockers and experimentalists.

"It sounds fantastic but one of the things that I tried to do with Warm Jets was to bring musicians together who would normally never play together and to play a music that they couldn't agree upon. The music would come from the chemistry. But of course, it was impossible to do. I couldn't expect any of the session people I worked with to go along with it. They literally fought." - Brian Eno, 1974.

In that spirit, fifteen singers and ten instrumentalists from all musical worlds team up to perform this masterpiece.

The evening will be emceed by walking/talking Brian Eno encyclopedia, WNYC's John Schaefer.

Of course the big tribute this weekend is Sunday's Our Concert Could Be Your Life which celebrates the 10th anniversary of Michael Azzerad's chronicle of the American indie rock scene in the '80s. The talent assembled paying tribute to the bands covered in the book is pretty amazing, and it's changed/expanded a bit since first announced:

Nat Baldwin, David Longstreth and Brian McOmber play Black Flag

Delicate Steve plays the Minutemen

Citay plays Mission of Burma

Ted Leo plays Minor Threat

Grooms plays Husker Du

Titus Andronicus plays the Replacements

Tune-Yards plays Sonic Youth

Callers plays Sonic Youth

Dan Deacon plays the Butthole Surfers

St. Vincent plays Big Black

Wye Oak plays Dinosaur Jr

Buke and Gass plays Fugazi

White Hills plays Mudhoney

Yellow Ostrich plays Beat Happening

Janeane Garofalo and Eugene Mirman host the evening -- which is sold out, but I wouldn't be surprised if tickets were released day of show. Keep an eye out. UPDATE: They are back on sale as I type this.

Religious To Damn (mem Blacklist/Vaura/A Stom of Light) played their record release party at Glasslands on 1/13 in celebration of Glass Prayer, the band's new LP out via M'Lady's Records on February 8th. The LP features an appearance from Tamaryn who (despite a supposed last minute cancellation) joined the band on stage. Kevin Hufnagel (Dystrhythmia/Gorguts/Vaura) opened with a solo set on acoustic guitar after Charlie Schmid and his percussion ensemble 'I Sing The Body Electric' performed Steve Reich's 'Drumming'. There was burlesque from Anna Copa Cabanna, and records were played by Jonathan Toubin, Jeralyn Mason, and WIERD honcho Pieter Schoolwerth.

The Glasslands show was free, but unfortunately you will have to shell out a couple bucks to catch Religious to Damn at one of their next appearances: 2/6 at Glasslands with The Vacant Lots, Exit Music and ZaZa, on 2/23 at Union Pool with Man's Gin or on 3/25 at Cake Shop with Tog. Man's Gin also plays Mercury Lounge on 2/12 with Scott Kelly and Wino. Tickets are still available for that one.

"Panda Bear is the project of Animal Collective member Noah Lennox. Tomboy, his long-awaited fourth album as Panda Bear, and follow-up to Person Pitch, is now complete and will be released on his own label, Paw Tracks on April 19, 2011.

Over the past six months or so, Panda Bear has released a series of vinyl singles on different labels, including Domino, Paw Tracks, and Fat Cat, with the final single forthcoming on Kompakt. The Tomboy album will be a compilation of these songs, along with new ones that have not been released. Additionally, all the songs have been added to and newly mixed with help from Sonic Boom to give the album a wonderfully rich and warm sound. stay tuned for more details." [PRESS RELEASE]

In related Animal Collective news, Animal Collective memberDeakin will share a bill with Black Dice and Mirror Mirror this Saturday in Brooklyn at Secret Project Robot, a venue which is moving to a new location at the end of 2011. Meanwhile they have a full schedule at the current location. More details, more event listings (including a Knyfe Hyts residency) and this weekend's flyer below...

Over the course of an hour, they split their set evenly between Serotonin and its predecessor, 2008's Twenty-One, and gave the respectably-sized crowd something to get boisterous about - which they did, right through to the soaring encore-closer "Dreaming Of Another World". Any concerns about what would happen to the rest of the tour were set aside in favour of just enjoying the moment.

Looking through Frank's photos of the show, I was happy to see Mystery Jets aren't sporting any fashion disasters (see above) like when they played at Bowery Ballroom last year. That may sound superficial but it is distracting when a band you really like dresses like Blanche from Golden Girls. As I've said before, I was a huge fan of 2008's Twenty One and think their new one, Serotonin, is maybe better even if nothing on it quite reaches the highs of "Young Love" and "Two Doors Down."

If you're going, be sure to get there early for L.A.'s Dominant Legs whose new EP on Lefse records I like a lot. Any band that lists The Style Council as an influence is gonna grab my attention, at least enough to listen to it. They played last night at Mercury Lounge, their first NYC show, and reports on Twitter seemed to be pretty positive.

Mystery Jets' cancellation last night has thrown a wrench into my schedule. I had planned on spending the evening at Glasslands for the Frankie Rose & the Outs' record release party but now I'm gonna hope the show goes late enough that I can do both tonight (9/15). We'll see how this works out. If nothing else I can pick up the record a week early tonight at the merch table. It's a really good album that, if maybe a little economical in the lyrical department, definitely showcases Rose's ease with hooks and harmonies. Check out an MP3 of the single "Candy" above and you can watch the Carrie-inspired video for the song -- which just premiered -- at the bottom.

It should be a fun night all around. Light Asylum, who the Outs shared the bill for their first-ever show last Halloween, headline the party, with opening slots from psych mystics Mirror Mirror and Pigeon who I can't find any info on. (But there are at least three other bands currently called Pigeon so you might want to rethink the name.) MINKS were originally supposed to play but seem to have fallen off the bill.

Dum Dum Girls

I have to imagine Frankie's palsDum Dum Girls will be in attendance tonight (you can spot Dee Dee in the "Candy" video near the end) if they can make it in time following the first of their three gigs opening for Vampire Weekend this week at Radio City Music Hall. I would kind of like to see DDGs there, actually, as their echo-y girl group vibe could sound amazing with the venue's acoustics. But I'm not gonna. I might, however, try to catch them on Saturday night (9/18) at Knitting Factory where they'll play with Girls at Dawn and Reading Rainbow. Their self-titled Sub Pop debut has stayed in constant rotation since coming out out in March.

While we're on the subject of bands with whom Frankie Rose used to play drums, Crystal Stilts finally seem to be getting around to making a second record. A new single, "Shake the Shackles," is due out on Slumberland Records on October 21, their first new material in 18 months. The band have struggled a bit post-Frankie, and the last time I saw them play live (Fall 2009 I think) they seemed pretty out of sorts. But both sides of the new single is good -- you can listen to it at the bottom of this post -- and hopefully they've really shaked those shackles and rebounded.

What else? Montreal art punks Red Mass will be here this weekend for two shows: Friday at Party Expo and Saturday at Death by Audio. Both shows are with X-ray Eyeballs. Somewhere between the Damned's goth-tinged punk and Nuggets era psych-garage, Red Mass also bring a sense of theatrics to their live performances. Frontman Choyce (late of CCP Gangbangs) has no problem with high concept and brings the Red to the stage -- both times I've seen them, the band dressed entirely in shades of crimson. But the music still does most of the talking. If you like this kind of thing at all, Red Mass are not to be missed.

Red mass are on their first real tour of the States -- well, the East Coast -- and they'll hook up with King Khan & the Shrines along the way. All tour dates are at the bottom of this post.

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And finally, Superchunkare here this weekend, playing Bowery Ballroom on Saturday (9/18) and MHoW on Sunday (9/19). Both shows are sold out, but you can still see them at Other Music on Sunday afternoon (1PM). I've also had good luck getting tickets at MHoW at the box office day of show, so if you're without a ticket it's worth a try.

Even if you don't get to see them, you've still got their seriously awesome new album, Majesty Shredding. No phoning it in here, this is classic Superchunk. Over at Emusic, Michaelangelo Matos wrote a great review of the record and the opening paragraph really nails it:

Superchunk sound like they've been listening to a lot of Superchunk. Well, of course -- what else would they sound like? But think about that for a second. Most bands slow down as they age because most people slow down as they age: Sonic Youth isn't about to start flirting with hardcore again; the Rolling Stones will never cut another "She Said Yeah." That's nature. But Superchunk 2010 could be easily mistaken for Superchunk 1991 -- the tempo hasn't moved and the scrappiness hasn't budged. And scrappy is what this band does.

Majesty Shredding is loaded with classic Superchunk Moments, from new single "Digging for Something" (you've seen the video by now, right?) to the manic "Crossed Wires" (a 7" from last summer) to my favorite song, the anthemic "Hot Tubes." It's so great to see a band 20 years into its career knock one out of the park.

Translations

That's enough for this week. A few more picks for the week, of things I didn't cover above, day by day:

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 15

I've been listening a lot to this Translations digital single which you can download for free. Both "sides" are really good, kind of Flying Nun/GbV style indie. Haven't seen them live but they play tonight at The Woods in Williamsburg. It's a free show.

Pendu presents: NY EYE & EAR FEST III
...a massive Annual Music and Arts Fete showcasing some of the most exciting bands, artists, and filmmakers currently living and working here in NYC. In addition, NYE&E assembles a Record Fair featuring NYC-based Record Labels and Vendors selling LPs, CDs, 7?'s, cassettes, lathes, comics, zines, stickers, and art prints. NYE&E exists to facilitate the introduction of new artists placing them side-by-side with the more well-known like an eclectic living mixtape of sound and vision. This is a festival for discovery - discover new bands + discover new art + buy new records + meet new people...

The title of the fest is inspired from the 1964 NY Eye & Ear Control soundtrack by Albert Ayler as well as the all-too-familiar signs seen daily in the subway tunnels by riders of the L-train of the infamous NY Eye & Ear Infirmary.

The fest is a part II to the December event of the same name. The Fest's four days of music kick off at the Knitting Factory on July 9th. The bands there include Grooms, Liturgy and Love Like Deloreans (to name a few) with headliners Nymph and Neg-Fi. The fest returns to the Knit on Friday, July 10th, for a show with Magik Markers, Child Abuse and more. In addition to the venue's two floors of music, its already-creepy basement will be turned into a "Video Art Installation and a 7-hour Continuous Drone Room."

The Fest then switches to the 92YTribeca on Saturday for a concert and a free record fair. Also at 92Y will be a program called "Women of NYCinema," with films and music from Sarah Lipstate (aka Noveller), Liz Wendelbo, Rachel Blackwell and Dirty Churches. The vendors range from big names like Matador Records to the recently featured Journal of Popular Noise to notable jazz label ESP-Disk.

The fest's final, fourth day moves to Brooklyn for a closing party at Death by Audio. That lineup includes Murdertronics, Team Robespierre, Talibam!, Total Abuse and Drunkdriver.

Separate from the festival, on Thursday, July 9th the 92YTribeca will screen filmmaker Brendan Toller's I Need That Record, a documentary about the problems facing record stores around the country. It will be the NYC premiere of the movie that was getting some attention already all the back on Record Store Day 2008. The movie includes interviews with Thurston Moore, Ian Mackaye, Mike Watt, Chris Frantz and more. Toller will be on hand for the showing. Tickets are on sale.

More details on the film (with video trailer) and the Ear and Eye Festival, below...